Antennas for a wide variety of applications are well known. Those applications include near field communication (NFC) systems, where the antenna may be the means by which an electronic circuit in a “listening device”, tag, or label is wirelessly powered. For example, in such applications, a poling device or source may generate a changing electromagnetic field by means of its own antenna, such that when the antenna of the listening device is in the vicinity of that changing electromagnetic field, a corresponding voltage or EMF is developed across the receiving antenna to power the receiver electronics.
Typically, tags, labels, or other such security devices incorporating the receiving antenna and associated electronic circuit are highly visible. However, it will be appreciated that, for some applications it may be desirable for aesthetic reasons for the tag to be non-visible (in other words substantially transparent). Also, for certain other applications it may be desirable for the tag or label to be non-visible or transparent to the naked human eye for increased security. A potential thief or shoplifter, if not able to see the tagging device, may therefore not be aware of its presence and may not, therefore, be prompted to take measures to avoid the removal of the tagged item being detected. Furthermore, if the person is not aware of the presence of the tagging device, because it is non-visible, then they are not prompted to attempt to remove it.